OH, THE PLACES YOU'D NEVER BELIEVE YOU WOULD GO! III

Sorry folks! No pictures today. There is NO WAY that I was going on image search for today’s story.

People invite priests out to bless all sorts of things. There are the usual things; houses, buildings sites, fields. There are the slightly unusual things, hops for beer, the grape harvest for wine, and boats. And then there are days like the one that follows . . .

A parishioner was opening a new business and asked that the building be blessed. Nothing so unusual there. I was given the address and we set up a date and time to meet.

I showed up at a very unassuming building and was greeted by the owner. He took me into his office and we chatted for a little spell. With great pride (as well he should) he explained the nature of his business. It was (the world’s?) largest indoor salvage yard. He provided donuts and industrial strength coffee before we got started. “You’re going to need it Father.” I thought he was joking.

So we start walking through room after incredibly large room saying prayers and splashing holy water about. One room had all car doors neatly stacked and arranged. The next had front quarter panels, the next axils, so forth and so on. I didn’t know cars had so many parts. Finally we reached the back of the building. I turned to the man and said, “Well, that looks like that’s it!”

“Yep,” he said, “Shall we start the second floor?” I should have realized there were some integral parts of cars missing even from my limited knowledge of such; bumpers, tail lights, wheel rims . . .

We got to what I thought was the front of the building (and good thing because I was beginning to run low on holy water) when the gentleman said, “Now you are gong to see the real reason we brought you down here Father. Behind this door is where we would like to have our new offices but we can’t do anything in here until you bless it.”

To bless: to make holy, to sanctify, to claim and set aside for the kingdom of God.

He opened the door to another long hallway. It was in stark contrast to the rest of the building. Where most of the building had been old and dirty, the walls here were relatively new and they were painted deep red and purple, and blue. Each room had a theme. One looked like a little girls room. One was filled with mirrors. One had winches and D bolts on the walls and so forth. There was a room in which it was obvious there had been all kinds of electronic equipment. This is where I started to catch on. If you have not the slightest idea what is going on at this point, count yourself lucky and perhaps stop reading.

Of all the places that the priesthood would take me I would have never, NEVER guessed a place like this. We prayed and blessed the rooms and claimed territory back for use in the kingdom.

Not too long ago, the street that the building is on was shown in a news segment about traffic. Seeing it on T.V. brought to mind the people who were effected by what happened there. It makes me sad to think what went on in those rooms, how many people gave themselves up to be treated as objects, dragging their greatest gifts through the mud. With the Internet, those images will never be lost. The models have perhaps a near immortal record of their activities. Will they never be able to escape their past if they should so desire? (Saint Augustine lived a rather lascivious lifestyle before his conversion. Would he have been taken seriously and would his cause for canonization been damaged if we could pull up images of him on our computers showing off his assets?)

Could any of the tormented confessions I’ve heard been a result of what went on in that building?

About a minute walk from my last assignment there was a so-called “Gentleman’s Lounge.” I sometimes pictured Jesus going down there and talking to some of His lambs and encouraging to embrace their dignity. I never had the nerve to do it. Quite frankly, I didn’t want the publicity and such ministry was fraught with all kinds of dangers and there are areas in which I admit to being coward.

Driving through town I will see an occasional statue of Mary or Saint Francis in someone’s yard and think how nice and offer them a blessing. But then again, they are perhaps not the ones who need it, it is rather the people in the topless bar, the guy who threw his cigarette butt out the window, or the people with “Pro-Choice” bumper stickers that really could use our prayers.